Rotary engine.



W. ALEXANDER.

ROTARY ENGINE. l APPLIGATION FILED JUNE 15, 1910.

1,000,3 6, Patented Aug. 8, 1911.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

W. ALEXANDER ROTARY ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 15, 1910.

1L M m 1.. E Sm 1 W S wom W M 2 D n m D..

m m mw n w Y m n FE il Nm. A 11.1 Nm i 6. .EE 1 8, O O J o. 1 w

WILLIAM ALEXANDER, OF LONDON,

ROTARY ENGINE.

i Specieation of Letters Patent.

ENGLAND.

Patented Aug. 8, 1911.

Application rled June 15, 1910. Serial No. 567,000.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known thatV I, .WILLIAM ALEXANDER, a subject of the King 'of Great Britain, and resident of 4 Rosenau Crescent, Battersea, London S. W., England, engineer, have invented certain newl and useful Improvements in and 4Relating to Rotary Engines, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention relates to fluid pressure engines (motors, pumps, compressors, blowers and the like) of the rotary type in which there is an inner revolving or rotative drum, within an outer rotative drum or casing and in which abutments,-hing ed'to the drum or the casing, are arranged to move in the spaces between the inner and outer drums.

with an outer ixed Yconsist in dispensing casing, the outer drum My improvements being preferably used as ta, driving drum to or from which the power isfapplied or taken,

and in providing 1n suchan engine. a multiplicity of either hinged abutments or rigidly attached flexible abutments, a driving connection between the inner and outer drums 1nr the form of a link or by means of friction, and a cranked hollow axle or axles,

In a modification the power may be apand acting as a plied to or taken from the inner drum.

These improvements have for theirobs ject the simplifying of the drive; the reduction of wea-r, internal friction and leakage; the maintenance of practically a constant fluid flow of large volume, and the production of a compact rotary plant.

In my improved rotary engine the outer cylindrical drum or casing is revoluble and within it rotates on a parallel axis a revolving drum with abutments either hinged or rigidly attached thereto.

The speed of rotation of the outer casing is arranged to be the same as for'the inner revolving drum either by means of a connecting link (which does not act as a hinged abutment) connected to both rotative members at opposite ends respectively, driving connection between them, or by means of a frictional drive bey tween them. The connecting piece may be flexible and rigidly attached at its ends or it may be a bar hinged at the ends to the casing and the inner revolvmg drum respectively. A

Several hinged abutments and two rotating members-v-the inner andl outer rotators, are better as regards Wear,

friction, and

leakage than thecorresponding features in other machines, with a fixed casing. By applying the driving power to or taking it from the external drum direct without the intervention of a shaft and pulley, the drive is simplified and. renderedl more elicient. Also, in the type of machine in which there are two rotative drums, several abutments are better than one in that a. much larger quantity of fluid is dealt with per revolution and flow is more steady.

In order to minimize drums and their respective bearings the latter have been made small. This has been accomplished by providing a cranked hollow axle or axles.

In the drawings attached hereunto :-Fig ure 1 is a transverse ysection through the inner and the outer drums. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section thereof, and Fig. 3 shows a plan of the hollow axle. Fig. 4 shows a section of a-modified machine, the section being taken through the axes of the drums, showing ports arranged in the outer drum, and Fig. 5 shows a cross section at right angles thereto. y v

The outer drum 1 is rotatably mounted on a hollow cranked axle 2 gripped or fastened in the standards 3. The inner revolving drum 4 is rotatably mounted on the cranked portion -5 of the axle which has a diaphragm 6 for separating ports 7A and 8 which register with the passages 9 communicating with the spaces 10 inclosed between the inner and the outer drums and successive pairs of abutments 11. The abutments are rotatably connected or hinged to the inner drum and, due to centrifugal force, press at their other ends against the surface of the outer drum so that there can be little leakage past them. The friction between the outer drum and the free ends of the abutments is sufficient when the uid pressure is low to insure the inner drum being rotated along with the outer one.

When pressures arehigher packing rings 12 (shown in Fig. 2) acted` on in a direction parallel to their axes by springs 13, are provided in the flat surfaces of elt-her the inner or the outer drums t prevent leakage between the two latter and for the purpose of providing a certain amount of frict-ional rive between them. When the pressures are higher still the two drums are, positively connected by means' o link 14v (shown friction between the dotted in Fig. l) which is hinged to both, or l by means of a flexible abutment rigidly fixed to both drums.

As rotation takes place the spaces l0 .al-

munication with the low pressure portion 15 of the axle by means of a channel 20 through the split liner and a passage 21 through the side of theaxle.

Instead of lfluid entering and leaving the axle at opposite ends of the axle respectively, it may be arranged to enter and leave at the same end by providing a longitudinal diaphragm in the axle 'extending from the ports at the inner drum to the open end of the axle. The other portion of the axlel would then be dispensed with and the two drums would. overhang from one bearing. Again, instead of the passages 9 being 'arranged in the inner drum, passages 22 may be arranged in the outer drum, in which case the axle can be in separate pieces 23, 24 as shown in Figs; 4 and 5,.

The drive is effected by means of' the power being appliedto or taken from the outer drum direct when there are two bearings 18 and 25 as in Fig. 1, but when there is only one bearing, the power can be applied to either the inner or the outer drum.

In the case where the inner drum receives.

or delivers the driving power, in thevcase of a pump or motor respectively,it-is preferable that there should be no positive connection between the drums.

The constructive details, such as pack' ings, mode of driving or others may be varied, and I do not confine myself to those herein described.

`hinged to the revolving drum, and means for delivering fluid to the said space, said means consisting in a cranked hollow shaft vand passages in said revolving drum.

2. In a rotary engine, the employment in 4combination with a revolving drum eccenltrically disposed within a rotative casing, of :means for dividing the spacehinclosed between the inner and outer drums, said means -consisting in a plurality of abutments' hinged to therevolving drum, a link hinged yon the revolving drum and to the rotative casing, and means for delivering fluid to said space, said means consisting in a `cranked hollow shaft and passages in said 'revolving drum.

3. In a rotary engine, a hollow lcrank shaft, a revolving drum mounted on the shaft, a second drum mounted-1n the first drum on the crank of the said shaft, a plus rality of abutments carried by one drum and engaging the other,'and a connecting link n hinged to the said drums.

I WILLIAM ALEXANDER.

Vitnesses:

H. D. JAMESON, Rl J. WILLIAMS. 

